ASD students learn to cook — and much more

For some reason, I get invited to a lot of cooking competitions, both as a judge and as an observer.

I can't go to all of them — I'd weigh 500 pounds — but when I was invited to last week's Aspires Teen Iron Chef competition between two teams each from Dieruff and Allen high schools, I couldn't resist. I wanted to see what kind of meals the kids would come up with.

Besides, I thought it would be good to write about Aspires, a program of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches that provides district students with a variety of programs to help them succeed, including Teen Iron Chef.

I have a pitch to make in that regard, but let's get the food out of the way first. I wasn't a judge, but all the attendees got little cups of samples from each of the four competing teams, and they were terrific. The kids got up and offered explanations of the nutritional benefits and cultural significance of their dishes. They were judged on their presentations, their ability to convey their nutritional knowledge, their teamwork and their food's visual appeal and taste.

The winners were an Allen team that prepared a dish of sweet curry lamb, tarragon basmati rice and roasted asparagus.

The competition capped a successful first year for the Iron Chef program, which is sponsored by Highmark. Aspires director Peter Bond told me it began with 30 students at Dieruff and then was brought to Allen for an additional 14 students. He said the students who completed it spent more than 50 hours cooking and learning about nutrition, lessons they brought home to help their families eat healthier.

At each after-school session, Bond explained, the students would break into teams, receive their recipes — prepared by Aspires assistant and cooking expert Sally Harkins — and study nutrition information about their dishes so they could offer presentations about their meals. Then they all ate and cleaned up together.

"It was well worth the time we spent every Thursday after school," said Brandon Ludow, a Dieruff senior. "The friends you make, the people you see, the things you learn, they're all important."

Another Dieruff senior, Joshua Almodovar, said, "I think my favorite part was the nutrition they would teach us each week. They'd give us tips about eating right, foods you thought would be good but they weren't so good, that was biggest part I took away from it."

Almodovar added that it's about more than cooking and nutrition. "You really learn how to follow directions, very good teamwork skills and how to work with a time limit. The friends you make and skills you can apply to your life are really great."

Aspires also is a partner in establishing an organic garden at Dieruff. Its fruit and vegetables eventually may supply a lot of the ingredients for Teen Iron Chef recipes.

One of the presentations at last week's competition was an award to Aspires mentor extraordinaire Mary-Louise Bross, 73, of Bethlehem. Aspires mentors work one on one with district students who are at risk of not completing high school.

A year and a half ago, after her first mentored child had graduated, Bross agreed to become a mentor to a 10-year-old girl — and noticed that the other kids in the family had long faces when the two of them went out for activities. So over time, she began taking the other three children with her, too.

As she described the things they do together — going to plays, hanging out at the library, going to Dorney Park, even going to historic sites in Harlem to widen their knowledge of their African-American heritage — and the lessons she tries to teach in connection with these activities, I was struck by how lucky these kids are to have her in their lives.

Bross, a former librarian and now a marriage and family therapist, told me, "This is all fun for me, having them explore things, and they just eat it up." Literally. As we talked, she was hard at work preparing a big meal of their favorite dishes.

Aspires asks for a commitment of at least one year and for the mentors to see their children at least twice a month for a total time of four hours. The program also provides at least one free event for its mentors and kids every month.

Bross said it's particularly great for retired people, who have time and experience to share. "The need is great and the reward is great," she said, "and it's so simple."

If you're interested in discussing what it takes to be a mentor, in helping with Aspire's Very Important Parents peer support group for pregnant and parenting teens or in contributing items that can be used in Teen Iron Chef or other programs, contact Peter Bond at Pbond@lehighchurches.org or 610-439-8653 (x17). Aspires also has a Facebook page.

You can visit the Conferences of Churches website at http://www.lehighchurches.org to learn about the organization's other programs or to make a financial contribution.

Why should you get involved?

Teen Iron Chef Josh Almodovar, talking about his experiences, offered the perfect answer. "This is something I'll remember for the rest of my life," he said.